Lenses

Apple has been granted two patents relating to ways it might look to extend/augment the built in camera lenses on its mobile devices in future. The two patents, granted to Cupertino by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, are: Patent No. 8,638,369 for a “Back panel for a portable electronic device with different camera lens options” and Patent No. 8,639,106 for a… Read More

Carl Zeiss just announced a bundle of prime lenses for both Canon and Nikon DSLRs. The bundle includes five prime lenses ranging from a 21mm f2.8 to a 85mm f1.4. All the lenses fit conveniently in a waterproof case, custom fitted for the lenses. These would be great for filmmakers and photographers or anyone with a spare $6000 lying around.
Press Release after the break. Read More

There’s no doubt about it: 3D is here to stay. Although it’s been almost two years since I gawked at 3D TVs at IFA 2008, there’s still little penetration in the consumer space. Hollywood is going gangbusters with the technology, though: 25 major films are slated to be released in 3D in 2011, and DreamWorks and Disney have promised that all of their animated films will be… Read More

Gunnar Optiks, makers of advanced lenses to ease eye strain for computer users, is teaming up with Carl Zeiss to bring a whole new class of “optics” to you. Not a whole lot of details at this point, other than Zeiss coatings and tints “will be used on the Gunnar Optiks lenses to change the lenses to suit specific digital viewing environments.” Read More

The engineering behind lenses, especially zoom lenses, is astonishing in its precision and complexity. No time is this more apparent than when you can get a good look at what’s inside a lens. A FredMiranda forum member took apart a bum 17-85mm EFS Canon lens and found it to be full of glass, rings, and other wonderful things. If you cut a lens in half you get the inside picture, but… Read More

Also announced at Photokina from Pentax are the following lenses, flash and other trinkets: DA* 60-250mm f/4 ED[IF] SDM, DA* 55mm f/1.4 SDM, AF160FC Ring Flash, DA 15mm f/4 ED AL Limited lens and 1.4X Rear Converter SDM. The * lenses are dust and water resistant and also come with extra-low dispersion (ED) optical elements. They’ve also been treated with Pentax’s original… Read More

I’ve always been skeptical about third-party lenses, but I know in my heart that even Canon makes some stinkers (18-55mm EF-S anyone?) and on the flipside Sigma and Tamron probably have some great glass. But there isn’t even any room for doubt with Carl Zeiss — the famous lensmaker is bringing its craft to Canon’s EF mount. These Planar T* F/1.4 50mm and 85mm lenses… Read More

Oh man, I desperately want one of these cameras. If you look in the sidebar, you’ll see a BlogTalk Radio thing where you can hit play and almost immediately listen to me salivating over the new Leica gear. I can’t afford it, of course, but I can’t afford your mom either and I still talk about her! Moving on… the Leica M8.2 is not an SLR, but I trust them to make a… Read More

Damn, Leica. I know you make awesome lenses and all, but a sub-F/1 production lens? When Kubrick had his f/0.7 lens made specially for Barry Lyndon, it appropriated NASA tech and the rear element was 4mm from the film plane (very dangerous). It was also hand-made and priceless. These Leica Noctiluxes are the next best thing: incredibly expensive. €8000 or over $11,000 will buy you one… Read More

History with CrunchGear! For a long time, the light-sensitive part of a camera has been flat. This is for two main reasons. First, photography originally used glass plates and prints involved a gelatin which would coalesce on anything but a flat surface. This lasted until the digital age, when the new obstacle became that the light-sensitive chips are generally manufactured like other… Read More

I’ve actually been looking for pictures like this for ages. I find SLRs and lenses very fascinating, but it wasn’t until I saw a lens cut open like this in the window of a shop in Paris that I understood just how complicated they are. You ask what you’re paying for when you buy a really good prime lens or a $1000 zoom; you’re looking at it.
The first picture is cool, as… Read More

Sometimes 14mm isn’t wide enough. Honestly, I don’t need a lens that wide, but with popular cropped-FOV DSLRs like the Rebel XT and Nikon D40, you lose a lot of those precious millimeters so there’s definitely a market for something like this. 5.6mm is insanity though — and as you can see, it covers a lot of real estate. Still, if you’re trying to get the… Read More

Yes. Yes. I say yes to weird-ass accessories. This one’s only $19, too. It’s a telescoping lens for your iPhone camera that can “Overcome the short coming of camera cellphone that can only near-sighted, it also makes distant view for you at the moment.”
What does that mean? Who knows, but it sounds delightful. The lens seems to work in tandem with a… Read More

There’s a plethora of lenses to choose from with pretty good prices. The rebates are instant so you won’t have to worry about making any silly deadline. Devin is taking a dump in his pants right now and yelling at me for finding this. Poor guy. A complete list when you hit the link. Read More

Anyone get a new DSLR over the holidays? Looking to fill that, otherwise, empty camera bag with a few more lenses? Of course you are. I know I am. Tamron has a pretty sweet rebate going on through the end of March. If you’re without a Pentax, Nikon, Canon or Sony then you’re out of luck. Nine lenses out of the Tamron lineup have been chosen and rebates range from $10 up to… Read More

Itochu and Holochip — yeah, I know. Never heard of them either. — have teamed up to make liquid lenses that will offer optical zoom and image manipulation without the mess of digital extrapolation. A tiny motor and squishy lens will work in tandem to deform the optics to zoom in and out without physically moving the lens forward or backwards. This means thinner, better optical… Read More

Every once in a while we get lucky enough to see an actually cool product. This is the Lensbaby, an odd lens that allows you to create selective focus images, meaning you can “sharpen up” on spot on a scene leave the rest in sporty blur. This would have been great for taking action shots on the floor, but we didn’t get a chance to try it on our gear.Read More

Holy crap, look at this lens! It was made-to-order by Carl Zeiss for an undisclosed customer, but judging from the Arabic lettering apparent on elements of the lens and the “Property of Qatar” stamp, one can guess who it belongs to.
The lens is coupled with a Hasselblad 203FE 6x6cm medium format camera. It weighs 564-pounds and is considered the largest lens ever created for… Read More

Alright, I’ve been scouring the Internet for the past few hours looking for the best lenses for a Canon EOS-30D. My searches are coming up mixed, so I figured I’d see what you all have to say on the subject. Basically I’m looking for a lens with extreme versatility and, if I must, a separate lens that can shoot in low light environments. As many of you know flashes ruin… Read More